SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 25 



Again, on going to the territory of people who 

 have recently come to friendly terms with their 

 village, men will make a black mark across the 

 forehead with soot in order to disguise themselves 

 from the Toh of this region. In the main, although 

 all regions are infested with Toh, those of the 

 locality in which a man dwells are regarded by him 

 as less dangerous than those of other parts ; for 

 experience has shown him that in the neighbour- 

 hood of his own village he may behave in certain 

 ways with impunity, whereas in distant regions all 

 is uncertain. It is for this reason that, when boys 

 enter any river or branch of the river for the first 

 time, a special rite is performed. An old man will 

 take them apart from the company to some spot on 

 the bank of the river, and, calling all the spirits of the 

 place, will ask them to favour the boys and to give 

 them vigorous life. An ^^^ (which on this occasion 

 is spoken of only by the name ^z/^ = sweet potato) 

 is offered to the spirits on behalf of each boy (or 

 sometimes merely a fowl's feather) by placing it in 

 the split end of a bamboo stick thrust into the 

 ground. Not until this rite has been performed 

 are the boys considered to be safe in the strange 

 region. 



The more remote and inaccessible the region, 

 the more are the Toh of it feared ; rugged hill tops 

 and especially mountain tops are the abodes of 

 especially dangerous Toh, and it was only with 

 difficulty that parties of men could be induced 

 to accompany us to the summits of any of the 

 mountains. 



The influence of the Toh is not always pernicious; 

 certain spots become credited with the presence of 

 Toh of benign influence. Thus, tradition relates of 

 a streamlet (Telang Ading) falling over the rocky 

 bank of the Baram river some little distance below 

 the mouth of the Akar, that a wild pig recently killed 



